After playing breath of the wild, I was thinking where this game takes place in the timeline. There are various things in game that point it to one place, yet there are others that point it to other.

The most solid placement is 10,000 years after twilight princess. This is because Zelda herself mentions the Twilight invasion. There are also many references to Majora's mask too, such as the statue of Darmani in Goron City.

But then there are elements and mentions of other events from games in other timelines.

They mention "The Hero Who Sailed The Seas" and the inclusion of the Rito in the game, who as explained in The Wind Waker AND Hyrule Historia, they are the evolution of the Zora after the Great Flood happened, to prevent them from discovering the ancient kingdom of hyrule.

There is also a common item found everywhere in Breath of the Wild called Rock Salt, which is crystalized salt from the "Ancient Sea". This confirms that at some point before Breath of the Wild there was a great flood, because this mineral is found even on the top of mountains.

And the connections with the decline timeline are also present, as enemies, locations and armor are present.

So with all the elements from every timeline are present in Breath of the Wild, I thought of the prefect placement.

I strongly believe that this game unifies all the timelines. Nintendo wanted to break conventions, to take the franchise to new places. With unifying the timelines, the posibilities to make new games after breath of the wild are endless. I also believe that this game is "The end of the cycle of Demise". When you fight Dark Beast Ganon, Zelda states that Ganon gave up on reencarnating in human form, and that he only wants to destroy the world. And I believe that Dark Beast Ganon is the physical embodiment of Demise's hatred, as his title is "Hatred and Malice Incarnate"

I think that when Dark Beast Ganon is destroyed, the Cycle is gone too.

So where do you guys think this game takes place? Do you agree or disagree with me? And why?

Now that you mention it. After I played through and eventually beating Ganon, by accident was looting the heck out of Hyrule Castle lol, I went after all the memories.

One memory referenced OOT,TP and SS. Some ruined areas in game far from OOT and TP, and Ganon's human form was mentioned twice. This led me to believe 100% that this is the Child Timeline. Also Ruto from OOT was reference in the tablets near Zora's Domain.

Now for the Rito, at first I thought they were Fakko Tribe because they were more bird-like, but I was wrong. I think the Rito exist because after what happens in Zora's Domain years ago, a group went to live in highlands and eventually became Rito. But people think the Rito ingame were those small human bird dudes in TP.

At the same time tho, I, and probably many others could be wrong; some even think the timeline joined together or something lol.

The BIGGEST concern for me is: NOT ONCE WAS THE TRIFORCE MENTIONED; AND THIS TIME GANON CAUSES DESTRUCTION, AND DOESN'T CARE ABOUT THE TRIFORCE.

But yeah, BotW takes place years and years after OOT and TP; but other elements from other timelines make things complex for people trying to figure it out.

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Urbosa herself mentions that Calamity Ganon once took the form of a Gerudo (and she was disgusted by that fact), so... it has to be SOMETIME after Ocarina of Time. But Zelda also mentions the Twilight. But the Rito also exist. And so does (a) Deku Tree. And more than one Sheikah. And no mention of the Triforce.

I was talking to my friend last night, and he was mentioning about how in 1980, he thought the internet would become this amazing place where people from across the world would share ideas. I was telling him about how this project [KOT] has worked, lurching along for years and drawn by different people from across the globe, and he thought it was beautiful. And he was right, it's awesome.

Placing this game on the timeline is very hard xDLets go through each timeline and see how it could fit.

Adult timelineSo, the most obvious connections are the inclusions of both the Koroks and the Rito.

We know from Wind Waker that the Kokiri took on the forms of the Koroks after The Great Flood, to be able to fly to other islands and plant deku seeds to "one day unify all the islands into one"

The Zora evolved into the Rito also due to The Great Flood, but this was influenced by the Godesses so that they didn't find hyrule castle under the waves.

In BotW, there is an item called Rock Salt which is found all over Hyrule. Its in-game description says the following:Crystallized salt from the ancient sea commonly used to season meals. Cannot be eaten in this form.

The Ancient Sea is most probably refering to the Great Sea, though some argue that its the Ancient Sand Sea from Skyward Sword, which its imposible since the rock if found even on the tallest of mountains.

Also, in the Japanese and German versions of the games, they mention the hero who sails the seas. This are the extracts (She s speaking to the master sword, in Memory #1):

Japanese: "You cross the seas when you seek the gold made by the gods. May you be alongside the hero."

German: "Whether the hero crosses the sea, or creates a link to the past, may you always be at his side." (Note how she mentions A Link to the Past)

Now, the last time we saw the Master Sword in the Adult Timeline it was plunged in Ganondorf's skull, in ganon's tower. The Master Sword in BotW is in the Korok Forest, protected by the Deku Tree.

Also, New Hyrule was stablished, if the sea was drained at some point, maybe by the actions of the Koroks (which is unlikely since they are acting against the very will of the gods themselves, as King Daphness Nohansen Hyrule wished for hyrule to be sunken forever and the gods granted his wish), but lets say the Koroks manage to drain the sea and they discover Old Hyrule. Would New Hyrule merge with Old Hyrule or would both the Kingdoms coexsist?

Although BotW has many connections to Wind Waker, I find it very unlikely that it will be placed in this timeline.

Child TimelineLets start with the most obvious connection. Memory #1, Zelda mentions Skyward Sword, Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess. "Whether skyward bound, adrift in time, or steeped in the glowing embers of twilight...The sacred blade is forever bound to the soul of the Hero."

Arbiters grounds is in Gerudo Desert, although just merely ruins of what it used to be.

In Twilight Princess HD, there is stone carvings in the walls of hyrule castle that depict the Gorons, Zora, Rito and Oocca. (Note that this was added only in the HD version, and Aonuma said that there were various things in the remake that when you played BotW you would have "Oh, I see" moments)

But there are not only references to twilight princess, but also to Majora's Mask, such as lakes and locations named after characters from the game.

As for the Sages. Yes, it is said Ruto was a sage in BotW, but Ruto could still have awakened as a sage after Link was sent to the past. Also, Link might have returned from Termina after Majora's Mask, given the Hero's bow to the Gorons, and joined the Royal Guards. Link could have died in battle and burried under that big tree in hyrule castle, where the ghosts surround it. But this is just speculation.

Downfall TimelineThe main inspiration for BotW was the Original legend of Zelda, and even the Tunic of the Wild is based on the Tunic of the hero of that game.

The Master Sword resting in the lost woods is a clear reference to Alttp, and even the placement of the Silent Princeses to the flowers in Alttp are spot on.

There are locations named after places or even straight from this timeline, such as Tal Tal Peak, and twin peaks.

Aonuma stated that Hyrule has faced Ganon for ages, and Impa says this in-game. The downfall timeline is the one that has the most confrontations with Ganon (and yes, Ganon, not ganondorf)

The triforce is not mentioned in the game, well, it is in the Japanese version as stated earlier. HOWEVER, if you look closely at zelda's hand in the last memory when she uses her divine power, she has all the pieces of the triforce. All the triangles glow, and if she only had the the triforce of Wisdom, only one of them would have glown, as seen in MANY other zelda games. And Link is not once seen with the triforce mark on his hand. And Ganon doesnt have the triforce piece either.

So, it is clear that Breath of the Wild has connections to every game in the franchise. Nintendo has everything thought out, and they are certainly not going to screw the timeline over. We just have to wait and get the confirmation.

Also, just something cool I, and many other have found while playing BotW.In Gerudo Desert, Eldin and Hebra there are Leviathans Bones, which are part of a sidequest. They strongly resemble whales that we have seen befoee in other games, well, at least two of them.

In Eldin, the remains belong to Levias, the Sky Spirit from Skyward Sword. The flat surface ontop of its head and the blowhole give it away.

In Gerudo, the remains belong to The Wind Fish, the whale from Link's Awakening. This is clear due to the wing bones on its back, and the blue whale skull structure.

The one in Hebra is unlike anything we have seen. It looks like a whale, with an elongated skull. No whale deity known matches the bones. Maybe we will get introduced to it in the future.

As for the Sages. Yes, it is said Ruto was a sage in BotW, but Ruto could still have awakened as a sage after Link was sent to the past. Also, Link might have returned from Termina after Majora's Mask, given the Hero's bow to the Gorons, and joined the Royal Guards. Link could have died in battle and burried under that big tree in hyrule castle, where the ghosts surround it. But this is just speculation.

Admittedly, this is also implied in the noncanon Hyrule Warriors, too. That Ruto and Darunia were indeed awakened as Sages of Water and Fire, respectively.

The one in Hebra is unlike anything we have seen. It looks like a whale, with an elongated skull. No whale deity known matches the bones. Maybe we will get introduced to it in the future.

Oshus, possibly?

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Additionally, the Seven Warriors of the Gerudo each depict a different symbol with a different color and symbol. Each of those match a color and a symbol for the elements of the Six Sages of the Era of the Hero of Time (even though they aren't the actual symbols of the Medallions) (which are also reused by the Six/Five Sages of Twilight Princess), PLUS the Seventh Sage's... Zelda of the OoT Era never had a Medallion and a corresponding symbol assigned to her, so... what other time have we had reference to the Seven Sages..?The Downfall Timeline.

The information about them all being Gerudo Warriors might easily just be a corruption of the legend. The Eighth Warrior, also, is... interesting. Especially since I have looked all over the structure, and cannot find either a color nor a symbol for it to correlate to. The Sword of the statue being misplaced, however, causes a new quest to go seek it out. Hmm... Does that sound somewhat familiar?

I was talking to my friend last night, and he was mentioning about how in 1980, he thought the internet would become this amazing place where people from across the world would share ideas. I was telling him about how this project [KOT] has worked, lurching along for years and drawn by different people from across the globe, and he thought it was beautiful. And he was right, it's awesome.

If you place BoTW into the Adult timeline, then Ganon actually attacks 4 times: between OoT and WW, during WW, 10,100 years before BoTW and 100 years before BoTW. So the number of times Ganon attacked tells us nothing about the placement. Placing BoTW into any of the timelines automatically gives it the most Ganon attacks.